Automobile headlight shield



' 20 pensive or simple yPatented Nav. 2o, 1934 UNITED ISTATES' PATENToFFicE i 1,981,161 I i y ma @.EWTLTF.

Application February 19, 1934, serial No. 712,016

3 claims. (cl. 24o-48.4).

The present invention relates to improvements in anti-glare headlampsfor'automobiles, and has for an object to provide shield or protectormeans in conjunction with the forward portions of the 5 lheadlamps tointercept light rays which are apt to travel upwardly' and with greatintensity into the eyes of drivers of on-coming vehicles.

The invention also aims to provide improved light shields or protectorswhich will provide a 1 flood of light directed downwardly in a zone veryclose to the forward portion of the vehicle, so as not only toilluminate the roadway close to the vehicle for the drivers bettervisibility, but also to outline the entire front portion of the vehicleto the vision of the drivers of on-coming vehicles whereby suitableclearance will be allowed and accidents avoided.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved light shieldsor protectors of an inexconstruction capable of being attached tostandard lamp forms without necessitating any alterations therein.

The invention primarily aims to direct light forwardly in a.substantially horizontal sheet M which will amply and thoroughlyilluminate the roadway for a great distance in front of the vehicle tothe end that high speeds may be maintained, but in which the rays oflight above this horizontal limit will be neutralized or entirelyeliminated, whereby the danger of intensive headlight illumination isredu :ed or entirely eliminated. y

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be moreparticularly described hereinafter and pointed out in detail in theappended claims.

In the drawing, wherein like reference characters denote similar partsthroughout the several views, 1

Figure 1 .is a forward elevation of a conventional headlamp showing animproved protector or shieldV applied thereto in position of use'. p

Figure 2 isa longitudinal vertical section taken through the same. 1

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3 i'n Figure 2. s

' Referring more particularly Y te uthe'drawing,

`tion of the lower member.

5 representmuul casing of the conventional 5 as being polishedv to actas the reecting surf. face for the light rays. The lens "l, asordinarily made at the present day, consists in prismatio formations ofvarious kinds intended to retract and condense the light rays receivedfrom the 3a reector for the purpose of intensifying and diffusing theultimate light beam spreading fro the outside of theelens 7. l

The edges of the glass lens 'I are ordinarily received within a bead 8formed on or carried by the forward portion of the lamp casing 5, thelens being held therein by means of a locking ring 9 having a bayonetlocking joint 10 with the bead or casing, whereby on a small angularrotation of the ring 9 with reference to the lamp casing, the lockingring 9 may be'either freed from, or interlocked with the bead for thepurpose of rendging the lens 7 readily detachable and replacea e.

In accordance with the present invention, this 75. locking ring 9 may beutilized to retain the a'nges 10 and 11 of the shield or protectormembers 12 and 13.

The members 12 and 13 are made of metal or some other opaque materialwhich will resist the passage of the light rays, and conne the beam oflight issuing from the lamp to the restricted zone left between suchmembers 12 and 13. The members 12 and 13 are preferably of light thinmetal of shell-like form, so as not to add any 35 considerable weight tothe lamp structure or locking ring 9 and s uchprotectors are preferablyin the form of sections of a sphere, each member being approximately aquarter section of a. sphere, in which the upper member 12 is appre;ciably larger than the'lower member 13 to the end that the upper memberl2 may project to a marked degree in advance of v/the outr por- There isthus provided between the two members a horizontal gap 14', andforwardly of the forward edge of the lower member 13 a substantiallyvertical gap 15. Light rays may issue through both said gaps. Moreover,the members 12 and 13 are preferably polished on their interiorsurfaces'to constitute reectors, -and their interior surfaces may alsobe flattenedin horizontally' extendingY terraced bands 16, each bandintersecting atan obtuse angle.

The lower shell member 13 is provided at its 1 upper edge with asubstantially U-shaped channel 17 to receive the semi-circular edge of aglass,I or other light translucent member 18, which extends all the wayacross the upper portion-of the no member 13 to the lens 7, to which itmay be aixed by appropriate glass adhesive.

In the use of the device, it will be found an easy matter after thelocking ring 9 has been removed to apply the two shell-like protector orshield members to the conventional lamp in the positions indicated inthe d'rawing, in which positions they will be retained when the ring 9is again locked in the customary manner at the bayonet joint 10'. Lightrays emanating from the source 6, reiiected by the usual reflector, andpassing through the lens 7 will be intercepted by the shields 12 and 13,reflected back and forth between its shields, the lens 7 and theinternal reflector of the lamp, until such rays as are directed towardthe horizontal gap 14 will pass 'through this gap in a horizontal sheetof light, the upper edge of which will be limited by the lowerhorizontaledge portion of the usual protector member 12. This edge will be soarranged and disposed that it will prevent direct intensified lightbeams from passing above too high a horizontal zone such as would causesuch intensified beams to be directed into the eyes of drivers ofon-coming vehicles. The light zone will be limited by the lower edge ofthe upper member 12 and by the forward edge portion of the lower member13 inasmuch as this lower edge portion is set horizontally back from themost forward edge portion of the upper member 12, so that light maydescend through the gap l5 in a vertical direction downwardly on theroad to thereby intensely illuminate the road directly in front of thevehicle and to cause illumination of the front portion of the vehicleand its consequently sharp definition at night to the drivers ofoncoming vehicles. 'Ihe light rays will extend from a vertical linedropped from the most forward edge portion of the lower member 13 to ahorizontal line projecting forwardly from the lower edge portion of theupper member 12, and this sheet or flood of light may penetrate to agreat distance forwardly of the vehicle, depending upon the candle powerof the light source and the construction of the lamp, but in no casewill any intensified light rays or beams be projected on an upwardlyinclined angle so as to meet the eyes of drivers of vehicles coming inthe opposite direction.

The purpose of the panel or pane of glass 18 is to exclude rain, snow,sleet and the like, and at the same time this panel does not interferewith the reection of light between the upper and lower shield members.However, this panel or pane 18 is not essential as holes 19 may be madein the lower portion of the-lower shield member 13 to permit draining ofwater therefrom. l

The fact that the upper shield extends forward ly of the lower shieldwill also avoid any light rays being reflected from the refiectingsurface of the lower shield upwardly above the horizontal line and intothe eyes of drivers of on-coming vehicles.

It will be understood that changes and modications may be made in thesingle embodiment of the invention shown in the drawing for illustrativepurposes and I reserve the right to make all such changes as come withinthe scope of the following claims.

What is claimed isz-- 1. An improved vehicle headlight lamp comprising acasing, a light source in the casing, a reiiector in the casing behindthe light source, a lens forwardly of the casing, opaque light shieldsof partly spherical form projecting forwardly from the casing and lensand being spaced apart to provide a horizontal gap therebetween, theupper shield being set forwardly of the lower shield, and a horizontallydisposed glass member closing the mouth of one of said shields, saidglass member abutting against said lens.

2. An improved vehicle headlight lamp comprising a casing, a lightsource in the casing, a reflector in the casing behind the light source,a lens in the forward portion of the casing, opaque light shields ofpartly spherical form extending forwardly of the casing and lens andbeing separated to provide a horizontal gap for the issuance of lightbeams, the lower shield being set backwardly from the upper shield toprovide a vertical gap through which light rays may be directeddownwardly in a zone close to the front of the lamp, and a horizontallydisposed glass member closing the upper mouth of the lower shield andhaving its inner end abutting against said lens.

3. An improved vehicle headlight lamp comprising a casing, a lightsource in the casing, a

reiiector in the casing behind the light source, a`

